Lion King IIII: The Downfall of us all
by Magical Substances
Summary: Just a journey to the Family Tree got them all in this mess. As she discovers a family secret, Kiara is determined to bring the lost prince back to the Pridelands to reclaim his throne, in which she might lose her place as queen.
1. Chapter 1

_Lion King III: The Downfall of us all._

Chapter 1

The sun had placed itself high this day, brightening and baking the Serengeti. It was just a usual day, nothing special to excite it. Near the Zuberi River, were three lions. The lion king, in front of the two youths, was taking his daughter, Kiara and her mate, Kovu to visit Rafiki so they could have a special traditional treatment every member of the royal family would have. It was to confirm their marriage.

Not far behind was King Simba's loyal friends: Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and warthog. Timon, the arrogant meerkat, rode atop of Pumbaa's head, and used Pumbaa's ears as if they were handles. They approached the special Baobab tree, whose branches and bark were matted in Rafiki's traditional paintings.

"Here we are, youths," Simba announced over his shoulder.

Kiara, Kovu, Timon and Pumbaa inspected the tree, admiring at how traditional-looking it was.

"Looks like this place could use more of a... a modern make-over," Timon criticized, playing around with his fingers. "I mean, really, It looks like a bunch of babies messed up this thing."

Simba, Kiara, Kovu and Pumbaa frowned at the small creature, and Pumbaa snorted afterwards. Seeing they were no longer content, Timon forced a nervous smile. To him, the Baobab tree _did _look a bit strange. Though he had seen it when he was introduced to the Pridelands, this was Timon's first time actually being up close to the special tree.

Interrupting their talk, a loud cackle came from behind some vines. "Don't you insult ol' Rafiki's tree!" A baboon came swinging from a long vine with a disappointed expression. Much to Timon's dislike, he swooped down and looked deeply into his eyes. "You got it, me friend?"

Timon gulped, and nodded slowly. The three lions behind him chuckled, and Simba spoke to Rafiki.

"So, How have you been, Rafiki?" the lion greeted, beaming happily.

Rafiki grabbed his stick before replying to the lion king. "Very well, my king. Very well indeed," he said. "I am guessing you came to confirm the subarrhation between Prince Kovu and Princess Kiara."

Simba nodded, turning to the two lions behind him. "Kovu," he called. "Kiara. It's time. Timon and Pumbaa, you-"

"They wait out here! Nobody dare insults Rafiki's dome. He can stay with the pig for company!" Rafiki snapped, threatening to hit Timon with the stick.

"That's a bummer," Timon exhaled. Pumbaa sat on his back-side as he watched the baboon lead the lions into a small, veined cave below. Inside were branches, branches that lead all the way up to the surface. Rafiki began climbing and when he reached the top, he pulled the lions up as well. Kovu squinted as he saw a smudged figure with a bundle of red mane around its head.

_It must be Simba... _He thought. He dragged his eyes above the figure, seeing the figure of another golden lion with red mane, inside a blue circle with another pale female figure.

"That's Grandma Sarabi." stated Kiara as she interrupted his thoughts. "I saw you trying to see who that was." Kovu nodded sheepishly, and looked up even higher. "Great-Grandpa Ahadi and Great-Grandma Uru," Kiara continued. "They're Mufasa and Scar's parents."

At the sound of his step-father's name, Kovu eyes widened and his green orbs were reaching down to the point where he saw a brown figure with black mane and a pink line through his eye just under Ahadi and Uru. "Is... Is that Scar?" he questioned, examining the painting.

"Yes, it is," Simba noted, joining their talk.

"And under him is you." Rafiki chimed in, pointing to a small, scribbled black figure of a small cub, "He wanted you to be addressed as his cub, seeming as though you were his heir."

"_Were_ his heir," Kovu empathized. Since falling in love with Kiara, he wanted nothing to do with that lion. Despite the fact Vitani was his daughter, Kovu had learned to trust her, since she was now a Pridelander. "I'm not anymore," he smiled warmly at Kiara and Simba.

As they made their way down to the present family tree, including Simba and Nala, Simba winced as he saw a smudged figure of a cub. He tried as hard as possible to get away from it. "R-Rafiki, could you just... you know... do the confirmation already? Nala told me to be home early because she needed help with something," he hurried. "I'm truly sorry."

Kovu knew what Simba was getting away from, but stayed quiet. Kiara, however, didn't understand. She noticed the figure, but also kept quiet so she wouldn't interrupt Rafiki. Rafiki dotted his hand with a bit of red paint and drew a line from Kiara's painting to Kovu's. He then turned to the couple, breaking the gourde into half, and smearing some of its juice on both of their foreheads.

"Princess Kiara and Prince Kovu... be wed," he announced, throwing flowers at the new mates.

"Thank you so much, Rafiki. I'm terribly sorry for rushing you. Nala's waiting at home. She would've come, but she was hunting - she's probably back at the kopje." Simba smiled, hugging the baboon.

"She is?" Kiara gasped.

"It is fine, Your Majesty," Rafiki bowed, beaming. "Perhaps they could come here in their own time. I do not mind."

"Thank you," Kiara and Kovu cooed over their shoulders as they walked down the slope to the veined cave. Simba didn't reply, but forced a smile and followed the wedded couple.

They found Timon and Pumbaa waiting, and each hoof and hand full of bugs. Timon was satisfying himself with crunchy ladybugs, helplessly shoving them into his mouth without a second thought. Pumbaa did exactly the same.

"Uh, Guys?" Kovu cooed as he approached them. "Aren't you coming home with us?"

Timon belched. "Oh... Holy Bug! I needa get more- I mean... we'll catch up with ya later." He looked to Pumbaa for assurance before the two cantered over to an open log where more bugs swarmed.

"Let's go home." Simba said as he took his first step. "We've still got to tell the pride, and your mother's going to teach you to hunt."

Ignoring his sentence, Kiara spoke. "Father, why did you rush Rafiki? Is something wrong? Was it Rafiki? Because I know mom couldn't be at home _yet. _When we left, she was just leaving with the rest, too."

Simba sighed heavily, ignoring her question. "How about you two go spend the day together, or watch the stars like you used to do?"

Kiara frowned along with Kovu, but they both forced a smile. "Alright, daddy."

* * *

_Author's Note._

_Thank you if you're about to hit the review button... or box! I must say, I'm happy with how this came out. I spent like... half-an-hour writing this, and so far, it turned out okay. And yes, Kiara and Kovu are now officially mates. I think the roaring was just an engagement but this is like... actually official. I didn't really include Nala in this chapter, because I had nothing for her to do. She would've been out hunting anyways x3_

_Aside from that, Simba and Kovu both have the same thoughts when approaching the family tree. Yeah, I made it REALLY obvious. However, if you didn't catch the drift, I won't spoil it for you._

_I WILL be adding OCs to this, and they are copyrighted to me. You may use them, ONLY with MY PERMISSION. PM me if so. I had another TLK 4 series, but I deleted it because I got another idea. It was inspired by Asante's story. NOT COPIED - INSPIRED. It has it's differences, and everyone has their theories. So, please don't PM saying. "Oh, you did it wrong! They didn't BLAH BLAH BLAH!" or "Actually... BLAH BLAH..." _

_*Another thing: DON'T critique my story. If you have a suggestion, or tell me I have made a small error, then that's different. But critiquing is basically saying my story is wrong, or I described the appearance wrong, or that it's too long, too short because this is my story, my theory. Besides, my slogan is "It's Quality not Quantity."_

_Anyway, thanks for the review (if you do review) and thanks for reading! _

_{You should really check out Asante's stories - They're awesome!}_


	2. Chapter 2

_Lion King IIII: The Downfall of us all._

_Chapter 2_

* * *

Finally after returning from what seemed to be congested with the African animals, Kiara, Kovu and Simba arrived at the kopje. Unfortunately, Simba's lie didn't quite work. The only lionesses that were home were the border patrol lionesses, who had just returned from the blazing sun outside in the Savannah. Simba's nervous gaze was immediately turned to Kiara, who frowned at him.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty?" The female's voice had startled the king, making him spin around frantically.

"Oh, Vitani!" the king sighed in relief. "It's just you..."

"Sorry... If I scared you. But, you looked troubled."

"He basically lied to us that my mother was home just to get away from Rafiki!" Kiara snapped, furrowing her eyebrows at her father.

"Kiara, surely he had a reason. Your dad's, like, the best king ever. He has his reasons..." Kovu chimed in, earning a dirty look from his mate.

After minutes of arguing, the huntresses finally returned, and made themselves at home in the kopje. As Nala set the meat on the ground, she could not help but boast about how good of a hunter Dalili was. Dalili was surprisingly one of the Outlanders that had joined this pride. Apparently, she had never hunted before as there were no herds in the wasteland, which was quite surprising.

Finally, it was time to eat the meat. Simba, as the king of the kingdom, ate first. He was then followed by Kovu, as future king and male, and Nala, as queen and then the rest of the lionesses. By the time the time the pride had finished, there was barely any meat left but the bloody bones of the carcass that remained on the rocky floor.

After feeling satisfied by their meal, the huntresses and patrol lionesses decided to take a nap, but Kovu, Kiara, Simba, Nala, Vitani, Timon and Pumbaa remained, talking.

"Father," Kiara called, breaking the silence. "At the family tree earlier, how come there was another cub next to me? I mean, surely that's a mistake. I'm the only daughter you have." Simba flinched and shut his eyes tightly, sighing hard and bringing concern to those who surrounded him. "Dad!" Kiara panicked, her amber orbs widening.

Nala placed a paw on her husband's shoulder, and her warm tongue pressured onto his soft cheek. "Simba..."

"I'm fine," Simba managed to say, relieving his friends and family. "So... your question, Kiara," he began. "A long time ago - four months before you were born, your mother and I had another cub." His sentence made Kiara gasp.

_I...I had a sibling? How? Why is he not here with us? _

"Why is he not here with us, father?" Kiara intriguingly asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Because..." Simba couldn't speak and so Nala took over the conversation.

"He was... He was killed by Zira." Kiara jerked her head to the left and saw Kovu and Vitani sulking. "His name was Kopa, the rightful heir to the throne. But after his death, we had no heir. Months later, I had you... and I was happy to have a girl. Kopa was Kovu and Vitani's best friend."

Kiara's gaze turned to the two siblings sat on her right. "Y-You knew him?" she stammered, her eyes congested with salty tears.

"Yes," Kovu said. "I was only little at the time, though. Me, Nuka and Vitani used to head out to play at the waterhole, and to catch some sunlight."

"He was my best friend I ever had. I let him down. We were out in the meadow playing. I went out to warn Kopa and Zira... she... she got him. I ran like a coward, afraid of my own mother. I should've gotten help. It's my fault he's dead." Vitani choked through broken words.

"He... He was a good pal. He didn't leave us from the throne, like Simba, and he wouldn't ever hesitate to have a grub." commented Timon through sniffles, earning a dirty look from Simba.

"I really do miss him," Pumbaa added as he stroked Timon's head with his hoof, then patting him on the back.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kiara lamented, not wanting to meet her relatives' eyes. The Pridelanders, now curious and intrigued in Simba's story, formed a small circle around the royal family, and listened.

"We thought it'd be best to put it in the past and not bring tears in the future." Simba replied, fidgeting with his paws and feeling uncomfortable. "If you'll excuse me, I think I need to be alone for a minute."

Nala watched, worried, as her husband struggled outside. Sarabi and Sarafina joined the conversation also, now intrigued in the story, but dismayed despite the encouragement to continue.

"How did Zira kill him?"

"Zira grabbed him by the nape, shook him until he was unconscious, and threw him into the Zuberi River - where he died," Sarabi chimed in. "We never saw the little prince again."

"Nor did we see Zira again... that was until you bumped into Kovu," Sarafina added, choking.

"It'll be alright, Kiara. He's in the stars, watching you." Kovu consoled, nuzzling his mate. The disturbed pride remained unsettled, until Nala decided to stand up and go after her mate.

"Pridelanders... I think it be time you rest. The huntresses will have to wake up early - it's the final day of the zebra and wildebeest migration, and we need as much food as we can get," Nala said, changing the topic. "The patrol lionesses will patrol longer than usual. As we know, it's getting hotter, and it's the excellent opportunity for males to take down a pride."

The Pridelanders obeyed the queen and took their places on the rocky ground. Now officially mates, Kovu and Kiara were allowed to sleep next to each other, but on the smaller platform. Sarabi and Sarafina always slept in the middle, Vitani slept beside Dalili and Etana, and the lionesses just slept in their usual spaces. Of course Simba and Nala slept on the royal platform.

* * *

_Somewhere else..._

She dropped a chunk of meat in front of the two lions and panted, collapsing onto the ground as she wiped sweat from her forehead. Her vivid blue eyes then dragged their way over to the two lions, glaring.

"Just because you won the bet, doesn't mean I'll do this often," she growled, laying her head down.

"Oh, c'mon, Nia! It was only an impala!" a lion with black mane moaned, beginning to nip on the carcass.

"Yeah! It was only one small thing. It's so easy, even a male could hunt it," the lion with red mane defended, spitting meat out of his mouth.

Nia watched, disgusted, as her brother and father spat out pieces of meat in between sentences. She clawed the rocky floor and left trenches. Nia unseeingly caught her tail in one red-maned lion's.

"Woman! What are you doing?" the red-maned lion snapped, blushing.

"Nothing! It was an accident, Jefar! Rudo, tell this lion to stop!" Nia snarled in defense.

The eldest lion, addressed as Rudo, sighed and rolled his eyes. Lazily, he said, "Don't you think it was an accident, Jefar?" He said to the red-maned lion. Jefar shook his head, glaring at Nia and walked off, out of the den.

"I'm going to get some fresh water!" he yelled over his shoulder. Rudo looked at both of his adopted children.

In the past, Rudo had had problems conceiving with his mate. She died of malaria only a few years ago. Unable to bare her death, Rudo decided to begin a new life, and moved into a place known as the "Remba Lands", which was a nomad's land. It had not been inhabited yet, and so Rudo decided to take the opportunity to do so. Across from his land was the Zuberi River, and next to the river was the Pridelands.

Rudo had recently been on a patrol and had spotted a young female cub, about to fall at the edge of the cliff. He took her in, but she had never recovered from amnesia. Because she hadn't remembered her name, Rudo named her Nia. About a few months later, Rudo had encountered another young male cub, just below a small gorge. He was unconscious, but Rudo took in the cub as well and named him Jefar.

Judo was now an old lion, just a few years older than Simba, and refused to find a mate. He claimed he didn't need cubs, he had his two cubs. To him, they were of his blood and no-one else's.

"Be careful! A-And be back before sunset!" Rudo called out to his son as he watched him walk further away. He then turned to the golden, young lioness and bumped heads with her. "Why is it that you and your brother always argue, Nia?"

The angry lioness shrugged her shoulders and entered the second cave, which was en-carved in the main one. In fact, two of them were en-carved into the main den, and Nia and Jefar used them as if it were their own. Rudo, however, kept the main den as he was the eldest.

Rudo was a rather handsome lion. His once black, shiny mane was now streaked with grey and white. His eyes were slightly baggy, but that didn't affect his beautiful, vivid green eyes. His fur was creamy, like Sarafina's, despite his colored paws.

Rudo was a great father, and never yelled at his cubs but tolerated their antics like a good father would do.

After the incident between his teenage children, Rudo decided it was time for his own relaxation and slumped down on the cave ground.

* * *

_Author's Note._

_Comments:_

_Thank you, almondbutter! That means so much to me! x3 I've read your 'Kopa's Sunrise' story, and I really like it!_

_At least this one was longer than the other! And yeah, we just have some random family in our story... No! They're not random - they're REALLY important. For some reason, I can picture Rudo as a noble lion, like Mufasa and Mohatu combined with a few changes. Yeah, it's sad that his mate died. I'm not bothered to name her, because she won't appear here. But perhaps, I'll make a 'Pre-Sequel' to this, explaining Rudo's past._

_Nia and Jefar are teens, and I didn't include a lot of the Canon characters, because I wanted to hint something: It's in the 'Somewhere' scene. Also, this is my theory of how Kopa 'died' or was attacked by Zira. *Please don't critique/argue with me that Kopa doesn't exist, because... nobody knows!*_

_Aaaand, I included OCs!_

_OCs_

_*Note - They are NOT permitted to be used by ANYONE without my permission! You could choose the same name, because I don't own the names, but the characters are copy-righted to me! So please, if you can, try to make the descriptions different! Of course you can use the vocab, though ;)*_

_Jefar - "Recovery" - After being saved and taken in by Rudo, Jefar finds he is no longer able to recover his memory. He meets his new sister, Nia, and they bond. However, that does not mean they don't argue! Jefar is intelligent when he wants to be, and is constantly arguing with Nia. He is playful, arrogant, funny and boastful. Jefar is golden with blue eyes, has red mane and a brown nose. He was taken in by Rudo as a cub._

_Nia - "Intention", "Purpose" - Nia was found and adopted by Rudo a few months after he had inhabited his new territory. Like Jefar, she is no longer able to recover her past, but only seeks the future with her father, Rudo. She is sarcastic and pessimistic at times, always arguing with her brother. She has a golden coat, vivid blue eyes and a strange white tail tuft. Nia, like Jefar, is intelligent, and despite the arguing, she is always on the lookout to protect her big brother. She does the hunting for her father and Jefar since she is the only female._

_Rudo - "Love" - Rudo was exiled at the age of adolescent like any lion. He found a mate, and tried to have cubs. Unfortunately, his mate had a problem conceiving and later died of Malaria. Not wanting to think of his past and mate's death, Rudo flees and inhabits a place called the "Remba Lands". Later on, he encounters two cubs: Nia and Jefar and decides to take them in, wanting cubs of his own. He is a great father figure, and can never harm anyone._

_Dalili - "Sign" - Recently called "Dotty". Not much is known about her, but she has four dots under her eye. (I decided to change her name to be more African-like.)_

_Etana - "Strong One" - Recently called "Spotty". Also, not much is known about her, but it is claimed she is Dotty's twin sister. (Again, I changed her name.)_

_*Eventually I will come up with a back-story for Dalili and Etana*_

_Places I named/came up with:  
_

_Remba Lands - "Beautiful Lands" - The Remba Lands is owned by Rudo, when he is exiled by his father. It is congested with water, sand, grass and herds. It is just across the gorge and Zuberi River (where Zira and Nuka died) and across the Pridelands. It is now occupied by Rudo, Jefar and Nia for now._

_*Thank you for reading! Check out my profile for more of my stories ;)*_

_And stay tuned for Chapter 3!_


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